Burial vault



.April 21, 193e. H, F KUETTNER 2,038,300

Filed Aug. 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet lv pril 21, 1936.1 H. F. KUETTNERBURIAL VAULT Filed Aug. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Smm lwwww PatentedApr. 21, 1936 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFIQE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved burial vault of the type used ingraves to house a coffin, and one object of the invention is to providea device of this character which will be very strong and prevent acoffin from collapsing due to the weight of earth above it.

Another object of the invention is to provide the vault with a hood orupper portion consisting of concrete or an equivalent material disposedabout a metallic liner which serves to prevent gases reaching theconcrete and seeping through the same.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the liner that itwill be firmly anchored to the concrete or cement from which the hood isformed and thus prevent any danger of the liner working loose from theconcrete.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved base uponwhich the hood rests about a platform which directly supports thecoflin, the base and hood being so constructed that water will beprevented from moving upwardly into the hood, a sufcient distance toreach the coffin and causing the coflin to rot quickly due to becomingwet by being immersed in water.

Another object of the invention is to provide a comu-supporting platformwhich is formed in sections capable of being easily set in place, vtheplatform sections and the base being of such formation that the platformsections will be firmly held against movement longitudinally ortransversely of the base when in place thereon.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a perspective view of the improved vault with the hood shownin an elevated position above the base.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through thevault.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken horizontally through thevault along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the liner.

This improved vault consists, briefly, of a hood I, a base 2 upon whichthe hood rests when in place, and a platform consisting of end sections3 and an intermediate section 4 which rests upon the base between theend sections. The base is set into a grave at the bottom thereof and theplatform sections then lowered into the grave and set in place and afterthe coiiin has been lowered and brought to rest upon the ribs 5 and 6 ofthe platform sections, the hood may then be lowered and it rests uponthe base about margins of the platform. The coffin will thus be enclosedin concrete which will prevent burrowing animals from having access tothe coiiin and as air will be confined in the hood, Water which may seepinto the vault about margins of the platform sections will cause airconiined in the hood to be compressed and the water will be preventedfrom rising in the hood a sufficient distance to reach the coffin whichrests upon the ribs of the platform.

The base is in the form of an oblong frame having side bars 'l and endbars 8 and referring to Figures 1 and 2 it will be seen that outer sidefaces of these bars are shaped to define downwardly sloping surfaces 9and shoulders Il) which project from the sloping faces in spacedrelation to each other longitudinally thereof and taper upwardly. Theupper ends of the shoulders are rounded and flush with the flat upperfaces il of the side and end bars and, therefore, when the hood is setin place with the flat lower edge faces of its side and end walls I2 andI3 resting upon the flat faces II and the rounded upper ends of theshoulders I0, the hood will be firmly supported. The fact that the hoodhas contacting engagement with the marginal edge faces of the platformsections prevents the hood from shifting longitudinally or transverselyof the base, this being due to the fact that the platform sections havethickened portions which eX- tend downwardly between the side and endbars.

of the base for contacting engagement with inner side faces of thesebars and with side faces of cross bars I4 extending between the sidebars of the base. These cross bars serve to strengthen the base and areso located that the abutting marginal edge portions of the platformsections rest upon their upper faces, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. Theweight of the platform sections and a coiiin resting thereon will thusbe distributed over the side and end bars and cross bars of the base andthere will be no danger of the concrete base cracking or breaking underthe weight.

The hood is also formed of concrete and while it is important that ithave side and end walls formed integral with a top I5 and thus provide ahood having the configuration of a bell, it will be obvious that anydesired external configuration and ornamentation may be provided. EyesIt are anchored in the side walls of the hood and carry rings il throughwhich ropes or the like may be passed and permit lowering of the hoodwhich is heavy without danger of breaking it. In order to reinforce thehood and prevent gases and air from escaping through pores of theconcrete, there has been provided a liner I8 formed of copper or anyother desired metal. This liner conforms to the internal configurationof the hood and as the liner is placed in a mold and the concrete orcement poured into the mold about the liner when making the hood, theliner and concrete of the hood will have close face to face engagementwith each other and the concrete adhere to the metal liner. Plates I9having end portions bent to form diverging wings or arms 2U are solderedor otherwise firmly secured to side and end walls of the liner and alsoupon the upper face of the upper wall of the liner and the wings 2Bproject from the walls and top of the liner so that they are embedded inthe concrete and firmly anchor the liner to the concrete. It should alsobe noted that lower marginal portions of the side and end walls are bentoutwardly and upwardly to form anges 2| which are embedded in the sideand end walls of the hood and reinforce the hood about lower ends of itswalls. As por'- tions of the flanges are exposed about inner edges ofthe lower edge faces of the side and end walls of the hood, theseexposed portions of the iianges will make contact with the at faces Ilof the side and end walls of the base when the hood is lowered intoplace and there will be less likelihood of the hood being chipped orbroken as it is lowered into place. When this vault; is in use, the baseis set in place in a grave and constitutes a strong and solid foundationfor a coffin. The platform sections 3 and 4 are lowered and set in theirpositions upon the base with the section 4 between the cross bars I4 andthe sections 3 between the cross bars and the end bars, It should belnoted that the cross bar 6 is formed midway the length of the section 4,whereas the ribs 5 are formed off center and the sections 3 are set inplace with the ribs 5 closer to the cross bars I4 than they are to theend bars 2. By this arrangement, the ribs 5 and the rib 6 will be sospaced from each other that when a coffin is lowered in a grave andbrought to rest upon the ribs, the rib 6 will be approximately midwaythe length of the coiiin and the ribs 5 spaced equal distances from endsof the coiiin and the coffin will be very well supported at threepoints. After the cofiin is in place, the hood is lowered by ropes orthe like passed through the rings I1 and brought to rest upon the basewith its side and end walls resting upon the side and end walls of thebase in close contacting engagement with marginal edges of the platformsections. Any water which may tend to accumulate in the hood duringextremely rainy weather will easily drain out during dry weather as sidefaces of the side and end walls of the base slope downwardly between theshoulders it?. Air which is trapped in the hood will prevent water fromrising in the hood to a sulficient depth to cause the coffin to beimmersed in water and become wet and rot.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A burial vault comprising a base having side and and bars and crossbars extending between the side bars in spaced relation Ito each otherand to end bars, the side and end bars having downwardly sloping outerfaces and shoulders projecting from the sloping faces in spaced relationto each other and having their upper ends flush with the plane of theupper faces of the side and end bars and cross bars, platform sectionsresting upon upper faces of theA side and end bars and cross bars andhaving portions extending downwardly between the cross bars and side andend bars to contact with inner faces thereof, means projecting upwardlyfrom the platform sections for supporting a coffin in an elevatedposition, and a hood resting upon upper faces'` of the side and end barsand the upper ends of said shoulders, the hood being closed at its topand open at its bottom whereby air may be trapped in the hood when thehood is lowered into place to rest upon the base about the platformsections and prevent water from rising in the hood to a depth to makecontact with a coflin.

2. A burial vault comprising a base consisting of a frame having sideand end bars and cross bars extending between the side bars in spacedrelation to each other, a platform consisting of Sections resting uponthe cross bars and side and end bars and having depending portionscontacting with side faces of the cross bars and side and end bars, ribsprojecting upwardly from thel platform sections and extendingtransversely across the same, and a hood closed at its top and havingdepending side and end walls to rest upon upper faces of the side andend bars of the base with inner faces ofV the walls of the hoodcontacting with marginal edge faces of the platform sections.

3. A burial vault comprising a base having side and end bars, a platformcarried by said base and having means for supporting a cofiin in anelevated position, said platform having portions engaging inner sidefaces of the side and end bars and having marginal portions resting uponupper faces of the side and end bars and projecting upwardly from thebase with its edge faces spaced from outer margins-of the upper face ofthe side and end bars of the base, and a hood formed of set plasticmaterial and having a metal liner tting snugly about margins of theplatform for contact with edge faces thereof when the hood is in placewith lower faces of its walls resting upon the projecting portions ofthe upper faces of the side and end bars of the base.

4.. A burial vault comprising a base, a platform carried by said base, ahood of set plastic material disposed over the base and platform andhaving a closed top'and depending walls for resting upon the base aboutthe platform, a metal liner having a top and walls in close contactingengagement with inner faces of the top and walls of the hood and havinglower marginal portions of its wal-ls bent outwardly and upwardly andembedded in walls of the hood, and anchoring plates carried by the linerand each having its intermediate portion secured to the liner and itsend portions extending outwardly therefrom and embedded in the setplastic material of the hood.

5. A burial vault comprising a base consisting of a frame having sideand end bars and cross bars extending between the side bars in spacedrelation to each other, a platform resting upon the cross bars and sideand end bars and having depending portions contacting with side faces ofthe cross bars and side and end bars to prevent movement of the platformlongitudinally and transversely of the base, said platform having itsmargins spaced' from outer side edges of the side and end bars of thebase to provid-e the side and end bars with portions projectingoutwardly when the platform is in place, and a hood closed at its topandl having depending side and end walls to rest upon the outwardlyprojecting portions of the upper faces of the side and end bars of thebase with inner faces of the walls of the hood contacting with marginaledge faces of the platform.

HAROLD F. KUETTNER.

